Giles Duley’s Legacy of War: The Final Chapter – a Kickstarter Campaign you should definitely back!

It genuinely surprised me the other day when I mentioned this Kickstarter campaign to someone and they hadn’t heard of the photographer Giles Duley, or his Legacy of War project. Giles is a photographer who’s work I became familiar with via a television program that documented his journey as a photographer, and well, a person. I could never do his story justice, so I asked him if there was something I could link to. He sent me this video:

The bit that never fails to hit me in the chest is where he recounts the moment he realised that with his remaining arm and eyes he could continue.

I don’t have the life experiences Giles has had, so I find it hard to truly empathise. My struggles, especially as a young person with a complicated upbringing were confined to my head, but still took me a long time to process and deal with. Because of this, I always find it incredible to hear about other people who have overcome their personal struggles, especially when they far outstretch my own. What I find even more amazing is when these people – through what they have had to deal with – feel such empathy for others that they then decide to try and help them. Giles is one of these rare breed of people.

Giles’s project aims to help those who, like him, are living with the long term impact of war. In his words:

“Legacy of War is a photographic project exploring the long-term effects of conflict globally. Most specifically, Legacy of War documents the lasting impact of war on individuals and communities told through the stories of those living in its aftermath.”

With the project in it’s final year, Giles has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund some of the project activities:

This is final phase of the project will be documenting completely new stories. All the rewards offered will reflect that and will be new, unseen work that is not available elsewhere.

The funding will support a free newspaper to be used for school educational projects.

It will support the completion and design of a book on the work and an online resource of the stories and themes.

I have no doubt that with your support this final year will be the most productive yet and together we will share stories that will change more lives and keep reminder of others of what really means and the terrible legacy it leaves.

As someone who is a fan of Giles’ work, and as someone who admires him and what he does, it struck me as a campaign I couldn’t not back! If you’re not aware of what he does, then take a look a the campaign and his website for more info… once you’ve done that, I hope you’ll agree that it’s worthwhile chucking a few of your hard earned pennies toward the project.

You can back the project here